Opening the Heavens

Pangu couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of the Great Dao. The problem that had troubled him most—how to deal with Demonic Pangu—could be solved simply by using the method of severing the Three Corpses.

But a portion of his primordial spirit had been split off. He felt that he had moved one step closer to the Great Dao, yet he knew he had also moved one step farther from becoming a complete self, one with all his emotions intact.

Pangu looked at his Evil Corpse and couldn't help but sigh. He was a man filled with wickedness, as if he embodied all the evil in the world.

Though this Evil Corpse shared Pangu's thoughts, Pangu still felt that he wasn't truly himself. He didn't know why.

The Evil Corpse said, "I am you, and I am not you."

Pangu asked calmly, "Why?"

The Evil Corpse replied, "You should be glad. I am the embodiment of every evil thought in this Chaos World. You merely hold the reins."

Pangu laughed awkwardly. "Should I be glad I'm not this evil?"

The Evil Corpse said, "You don't need to feel guilty. I'm not opening the heavens on your behalf, but on the Great Dao's. And I should thank you for allowing me to exist. Hahaha!"

Pangu sighed. "You are destined to die."

"Perhaps," the Evil Corpse said. "Perhaps I'll even find myself again. I'll also need to borrow your Sky-Opening Axe." As he spoke, the Evil Corpse began refining a green lotus.

Pangu silently watched it all. Why chase an origin he didn't understand and only burden himself with more worries?

Evil Corpse Pangu held the Sky-Opening Axe and sighed. "A fine axe, but it doesn't feel right in my hands. I'll make do for now."

The Sky-Opening Axe rumbled, as if deeply displeased by his contempt.

Evil Corpse Pangu said, "Don't be dissatisfied. Opening the heavens is your tribulation. The Great Dao scattered my weapon, and I can't reassemble it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be using you. Don't give it your all, or you won't survive either."

The Law of Power surged around him, and a mighty force burst forth.

"Roar!"

With a roar like thunder, Evil Corpse Pangu unleashed an overwhelming, domineering aura and struck at the Chaos before him.

"OPEN!"

A thunderous cry, brimming with boundless fury and dominion, burst from Pangu's mouth. His axe strike carried limitless power, infused with his understanding of the Great Dao.

As Evil Corpse Pangu swung, dazzling streaks of axe light flashed through the Chaos. The whole expanse was like a field of enormous bubbles, each one bursting beneath the axe light. Chaos Qi continuously separated into clear Yang Qi and turbid Yin Qi. Earth, water, fire, and wind surged ceaselessly like raging waves, crashing about in all directions.

A green lotus shot out from Evil Corpse Pangu and immediately stabilized earth, water, wind, and fire. It rapidly expanded, merging with the newly opened world. Pangu hurled away the borrowed Sky-Opening Axe.

After Heaven and Earth were first formed, they remained unstable. Great God Pangu held up the blue sky with his head and braced the ground with his feet, growing one zhang taller each day as the sky rose and the earth thickened by the same measure. After eighteen thousand years, Heaven and Earth had settled into their final form. Xuanhuang Qi descended from the sky, seeking to envelop the world.

Evil Corpse Pangu saw Heaven and Earth take shape and Xuanhuang Qi descend. This was the primordial essence of Heaven and Earth, the mother of all things.

"Hahaha!" He quickly formed a series of hand seals, trying to refine the Xuanhuang Qi for his own use. A mighty pressure filled Heaven and Earth. These were the laws the Great Dao had bestowed upon the world: Heaven had its might, and the Dao had its might.

Under Heavenly Might, Evil Corpse Pangu began to sway. He wanted to defy Heaven, but the Great Dao would give him no such chance.

But Evil Corpse Pangu was not one to submit easily. He roared, "You're only a part of the Great Dao, fit to be called the Heavenly Dao at best. And you dare wield Heavenly Might before me?"

Evil Corpse Pangu seized a large quantity of essence from the Xuanhuang Qi. "Condense!" A golden halberd appeared in his hand, its shaft engraved with nine dragon-shaped patterns—the divine markings formed by Heaven and Earth itself.

Evil Corpse Pangu spun the Golden Halberd in his hand. A stream of Black Qi drifted out of his body and was absorbed by the weapon. A tremendous Killing Qi erupted, turning the golden halberd crimson, as if it contained a blood-soaked abyss where a million tormented souls howled.

"How can a divine weapon be forged without killing intent? If Heaven stands in my way, I'll destroy Heaven. If the Heavenly Dao tries to stop me, I'll devour it and make it nourishment for your growth. Hahaha! I'll call you the Heaven Devouring Halberd."

A stream of Xuanhuang Qi drifted down and coalesced into Xuanhuang's form.

Evil Corpse Pangu said, "Xuanhuang, are you here to stop me?"

Xuanhuang replied, "I know you're unwilling to transform into Heaven and Earth, but the will of the Great Dao cannot be defied."

"Fine. Then we'll fight."

"If you can defeat me, I'll give up. But..."

Xuanhuang raised a hand and beckoned. Xuanhuang Qi immediately wrapped around Pangu, pinning him in place with a force that could crush his formidable body. The power contained not only the strength of all Heaven and Earth, but also boundless Power of Creation and limitless vitality.

With a sigh, Xuanhuang said, "Heaven and Earth are still empty. There is no life in them. You must fulfill your mission."

Evil Corpse Pangu couldn't withstand this power. Like a stone falling from the sky, he plummeted. He roared and fought to swing the halberd, but the power capable of splitting open Heaven and Earth was absorbed by the world. The resulting backlash shattered the Heaven Devouring Halberd and Evil Corpse Pangu's arm.

He crashed heavily onto the empty earth. Boundless Power of Creation immediately surrounded him, making him transform into the Primordial World.

A sigh sounded. "You still don't understand."

His left eye became the sun, his right eye the moon, and his hair became a scattering of stars. His blood became rivers, lakes, and seas; his muscles became fertile fields stretching for thousands of miles. His body hair became plants and trees, his tendons and veins became roads, his teeth became metal and stone, and his marrow became pearls. His breath became wind and clouds, his voice became thunder, and his sweat became rain and dew.

His head and limbs became the Five Sacred Mountains, while his spine became the pillar between Heaven and Earth: the Buzhou Mountain Range... His navel became a sea of blood, stretching for tens of thousands of miles. Blood waves surged through it, where fish and shrimp could not thrive and birds and insects would not go. All the Malevolent Qi in Heaven and Earth gathered there, and the people of the Primordial World would call it the Netherworld Blood Sea.

Xuanhuang Qi enveloped Evil Corpse Pangu's soul and carried it into the depths of Heaven and Earth.

Pangu watched it all calmly. This was what it meant to transform into all things. Xuanhuang Qi had enveloped Evil Corpse Pangu's soul, shielding it from Pangu's probing. Pangu knew that deep within every world there was another presence—a place where life in that world began.

At that moment, countless Purple Star Points shot out from the depths of Heaven and Earth like meteors, rushing into the world and quickly merging with it. Pangu didn't know whether they included the essence of Evil Corpse Pangu's primordial spirit.

Heaven and Earth changed completely. Chaos Qi began to evolve, transforming into the innate Qi of the world—the spiritual energy living beings used to cultivate.

The Five Elements of Heaven and Earth, along with wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, surged forth, accelerating the transformation of Chaos Qi wherever they passed.

Then Heaven and Earth seemed to fall into silence, with only their faint breathing audible.

Pangu knew this was merely an illusion. Many powerful life-forms were gestating between Heaven and Earth. They would become the rulers of this world. It had only just begun to evolve, awaiting the day its rulers would descend upon the land.

Pangu felt that this world lacked too many things. He faintly sensed that this would hinder its development, but he couldn't tell what was missing.

Pangu knew this was an opportunity. If he could grasp the key, he could create another world and gradually draw closer to the Great Dao he sought.

Pangu was merely an observer in this world, deeply wary of the supreme Great Dao.

The Primordial World was vast beyond measure, filled with treasures—innate things, many condensed from innate essence. Even a random stone might be Gengjin Essence; a handful of soil might be Gentu Essence (breathing soil); a palmful of water might be Kui Water Essence; and the blazing fire spewed from a volcano might be Lihuo Essence.

This was a world gone wild. At this time, the Primordial World belonged entirely to Savage Beasts. Most had yet to fully take human form, but the living beings of Heaven and Earth—even the ancient gods, except for a fortunate few—were mostly ignorant and barely qualified to be called living beings. Savage Beasts acted purely on instinct, like the wild animals of later eras. But Pangu's physical body and innate vitality had granted them immense strength, making them even more destructive.

Time meant nothing in the Primordial World, and no one knew how long had passed. In the depths of the Netherworld Blood Sea, a strange presence lay sealed away. The seal, of course, contained something terrifying.

Ji Tian was terrified. In a pitch-black abyss, millions of souls wailed around him, and millions of Fierce Ghosts chased him in a frenzy. He could only sense how weak he was: a flickering spark of spirit, growing dimmer and brighter by turns. He could only drift rapidly, fleeing for his life from that dreadful abyss. Fortunately, as he drifted aimlessly, he saw a glimmer of light. Though blood-red and eerie, it was still a beacon that rekindled his courage to live.

Ji Tian curled up trembling beside that eerie glow, yet an immense pressure lingered in his heart, as though he couldn't breathe. Struggling, Ji Tian tried to dispel the knot of pent-up energy in his chest. He didn't know how many days passed. In endless darkness and endless oppression, Ji Tian strained to extend his Spiritual Sense, strengthening and solidifying it bit by bit as he pondered what he was and where he had come from. Perhaps by Heaven's favor, his Spiritual Sense suddenly burst through a thick barrier.

Ji Tian was astonished to find that the eerie red barrier before him had vanished, replaced by a broken halberd. Only the Dragon-shaped Halberd Blade remained, its faint glow radiating a piercing sharpness.

The Dragon-shaped Halberd Blade struggled to manifest its original form: a crimson-red halberd, its shaft coiled with nine golden five-clawed Divine Dragons, each different—some breathed fire, some frolicked, and some glared furiously.

Ji Tian's gaze met one of the golden dragons for the briefest instant. A powerful Spiritual Sense suddenly surged into his mind. His hard-won Spiritual Sense seemed on the verge of collapsing, yet it left behind a deep, ancient sense of desolation and defiance. But the halberd began calling to him from the depths of his heart, its summons so familiar that it felt like the weapon was part of him.

Ji Tian involuntarily merged his Spiritual Sense with the halberd blade. His mind suddenly opened up, as though Heaven and Earth had just been split apart.

Ji Tian seemed to have gone stupid, floating in midair and murmuring, "So that's how it is. So that's how it is..."